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Wednesday, October 07, 2015

Killa & Cloud Atlas

No, these two movies have nothing in common but just that I recently watched them and wish to capture my experience in a single post.

Killa -

"Killa" (Fort) is a coming of age film in Marathi language shot entirely in the Konkan region of Maharastra. The storyline is nothing new. The plot and character of the main protagonist resemble those of « Le gamin au vélo » or « Extremely loud and incredibly close » but for indian audience this is definitely a new territory. The story revolves around a boy who has moved from the city of Pune to a much smaller town in the Konkan and he fails to adapt and refuses to come out of the sorrow of his fathers death. Basically the stories conveys how the child has shut himself inside a fort and does not let anybody in. But the Konkan atmosphere and surrounding is bound to change him. I was also able to see another subtle meaning in this plot. The child is a Brahmin. He could have been of any caste but the author chose him to be of an upper caste. Being a Brahmin myself, I can relate to the story of adapting and accepting beyond ones religion and caste that has heavy influence on the indian society. In the far Konkan land, the child learns that there is a beautiful world out there and he cannot shut himself in without accepting that fact or befriending the people around him and by overcoming his grief he has to look beyond. Great cinematography compliments the incredible performances by the main characters. I must thank Ganesh bhai for suggesting me this movie.

Cloud Atlas -

Cloud atlas, the book is a masterpiece. The movie deviates a little from the book and tries to drive its own conclusions from the story. Some of it makes sense, some of it further complicates the story than it is already.

Cloud Atlas is a collection of six stories that are all connected. The first story is set in 1849 in the pacific island where a lawyer is sailing back from Cathay islands to San Francisco and suffers a severe illness during his journey. He recounts his experiences in his diary. The second one is about a bisexual English composer who in 1931 travels to Bruges to work as amanuensis to an ageing composer. His story is delivered through the letters he writes to his lover. In the third story, set in San Francisco of 1973, Luisa ray, a journalist gets involved in a very messy affair dealing with safety of a nuclear reactor. In the fourth segment that happens in London of 2012, an old publisher is facing an ordeal from which he must escape. In 2144, a fabricant cloned for slave labour from Neo Seoul is helped to escape by a rebel group and is tasked with a mission to begin a revolution. In the final story that takes place in a post-apocolyptic society (2321) somewhere in Hawai, world has gone back to a primitive state. Zarchy, a tribe helps a much advanced human from other part of the world in her mission. Now all the main characters in these stories have a birthmark that resembles a comet thus connecting them. Are they the same soul taking re-births to bring a revolution of a kind against the wrong in every era? Are we repeatedly making the same mistakes? Do souls evolve and transform from one birth to another? Several of these questions to be pondered upon while watching this movie. I leave without disclosing any interpretations as every viewer may drive his own connection between these stories. But even if this movie is to be watched as six separate stories, it is a treat to watch.

Yes, Agree that it is a difficult film to understand when looked for connectivity. But perhaps the ambiguity exists only when we try too hard to connect them. My takeaway is that we are repeatedly doing the same mistakes again and again. Discrimination towards others based on skin colour, sexual orientation or class and power, the old and weak, Corporate attitude and distinction based on class and race. Ultimately this will take us back to primitive state completing a full circle.